A new urban village development that will include at least 850 residential units accompanied by 35,000 square feet of retail space will take up the vacant space known as Smiley Heights.

The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority unveiled the master plan for Ardendale, formerly referred to as Smiley Heights Thursday night.

Ardendale will be constructed in Baton Rouge’s Mid-City, north of Florida Blvd. between Ardenwood and Lobdell. It will be a mix of homes and retail, and will include a career academy, an automotive training center and a satellite campus for Baton Rouge Community College.

The area will include additional open space, recreational facilities, walking and biking paths, community common green areas, a community garden and a wetlands nature preserve area.

The Redevelopment Authority acquired the 198-acre site, Smiley Heights, in January 2012. In April 2011, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council used $1.2 million in disaster recovery funds to partner with the RDA in purchasing the land; the remaining $760,000 came from an East Baton Rouge Mortgage Finance Authority grant

By combining affordable rental and homeownership units with market-rate housing, the development of Ardendale will result in an unprecedented urban village community, officials said.

Other units include for-rent lofts, apartments and single family detached homes with projected rental rates from under $1,000 per month to $1,500 per month.

Architects Southwest’s Steven Oubre presented the master plan at RDA's final presentation after a week-long charrette that consisted of more than 15 meetings and feedback from 150 stakeholders and community members.

The development is designed to provide residential housing units affordable to families earning at least 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is equal to a single-person household income of $36,200, $41,400 for a two-person household and $46,500 for a three-person household.

“This new development will revitalize a major part of Mid-City. Great care has been taken in planning the development to bring together adjoining neighborhoods and link them to this exciting, new place,” RDA CEO Walter Monsour said. “It will honor the history and culture of the existing neighborhoods and the people who have lived there. Because revitalization is all about providing a fresh start without straying from its heritage, the development needed a new name that linked to its past. Ardendale reflects the best of both neighborhoods.”

Phase one includes the construction of the eastern campus for Baton Rouge Community College and—the first of its kind—a career academy for high school students to be developed by the East Baton Rouge Parish school system.

Monsour said the next step is submitting the concept plan to the East Baton Rouge Parish planning commission in November and ultimately seeking approval from the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council on Jan. 15, 2014.